On the Job: She Has a New Leash On Life

You could say Nancy Lutz’s career has gone to the , but that wouldn’t be entirely accurate.

Her career also has gone to the and, in one notable case, a chameleon. And that’s just the way she likes it.

Since starting her own business seven years ago, , Lutz spends most of her days and some of her nights taking care of other people’s beloved animals.

Usually, her responsibilities involve looking after dogs and cats when their owners have to leave town for business or vacation. Or, she drops in during the day to check on Fido or Miss Whiskers for busy working people who can’t get home because of long hours on the job.

But occasionally, Lutz draws a different species. The chameleon, for instance.

She recalls having to feed it cockroaches and worms as thick as her thumb, along with fruits and vegetables. She says she took a liking to the little guy, quickly noting he had a personality.

“It’s not just a lizard,” she says. “All of a sudden they’re attached to you and you know that they’re thinking.”

But one day it became attached to her in the very real sense, and she couldn’t get it off. He crawled up her arm and then to the middle of her back where she couldn’t reach it.

She laughs as she recalls her predicament, getting down on the floor to mimic how she was trying to position herself so the chameleon could safely climb off.

“I’m there all by myself and it’s on my back and I don’t want it to fall off,” she says, laughing. “So I’m doing this (down on all fours), and I’m lying on the floor and it won’t come off.”

Eventually he did, of course, without harm to himself or his sitter.

No harm, no foul. The only downside came later, when the girlfriend of the chameleon’s owner came home and was terrorized by one of the roaches that had escaped both Lutz and the lizard. 

Whether it’s chameleons and roaches or poodles and pomeranians, every day can be an adventure for a professional pet sitter.

Switching careers

Lutz always has loved animals. She says her mother told her that when she was just a toddler, she became obsessed with the family cat, following it everywhere to the exclusion of all else and worrying her parents that she’d literally smother it with affection.

Since then, she’s always had pets of some kind, usually dogs and cats. But she’s also owned rabbits and ferrets, too, when she lived in an apartment in Houston. (Note: she doesn’t recommend letting them roam free, unless you don’t mind having all your wires gnawed through.)

Basically, she just loves being around animals.

So a few years ago when she started to re-evaluate her career path, that love played a big factor in Lutz taking a new direction.

For most of her adult life, Lutz has worked in retail, for such big companies as Miller’s Outpost, Nordstrom and Bloomingdale’s, specializing in cosmetics.

“I was getting into year 17 or 16 (in retail) and I was thinking, ‘What do I love and what do I want to do if it’s not going to be retail?” she recalls. “And I just said, I love pets, I love animals, dogs, cats and everything, and I’m thinking, ‘Well, let’s see if I can start setting up a pet-sitting service.’ ”

When she started doing her homework, she discovered a woman in San Diego was giving seminars about how to set up such a business.

“Somehow I found that and took off,” says Lutz.

At first, she hedged her bets. She didn’t leave her job at Nordstrom, but continued to work full time at the store while trying to start Santee Critter Sitting.

“Some of my days back then were unbelievable,” she says. “Out at midnight, early before work. I felt like I had to work very hard to get started.”

When the economy started to dip about 2007, Nordstrom began shifting some full-time workers to part-time, which Lutz saw as an opportunity. She asked to go part-time so she could devote more hours to her business.

“That was my opportunity,” she says.

Today, even with her business growing, Lutz still works about 14 hours per week in cosmetics at Bloomingdale’s in Fashion Valley because she enjoys it. But she knows, eventually, she’ll likely turn away from retail altogether to devote all her energies to her enterprise. She’s been so busy the last few months she’s even considered hiring an assistant, but hasn’t yet taken that step.

She just knows she’s glad she followed up on her idea to go into business for herself in 2004. Now, she’s insured, bonded, trained in pet first aid and a member of Pet Sitters International, with enough clients to keep her constantly hopping.

“Pet sitting is my thing, this is my baby, this is my business,” she says. “I take it so personal and so serious.”

Travels with Nancy

Lutz’s days can be busy.

As she sits in the home of a client in La Mesa – she’s stopped in to check up on a small dog named Kona and take her -- she picks up her daily calendar and starts leafing through the pages to use as a visual aid as she explains her schedule.

On one recent day, for instance, she had nine appointments, from early morning to early evening, followed by an overnight stay with pets at their home.

Most of her jobs are in the East County because she needs to consolidate her base (because of drive times), but she still services a few longtime clients that have moved. She has some clients as far as Hillcrest and La Jolla.

Every job is different, depending on what an owner wants for his or her animal. With dogs, a visit may entail checking its food and water, taking it for a walk and perhaps spending some time with it. Dogs may need visits several times per day if a family is on vacation.

Cats, meanwhile, are usually visited just once a day. They just need their food and water checked. Though cats are independent, they’re used to being part of a family and seem to appreciate a visitor, she says.

“They get a sense somebody is caring for them,” says Lutz.

Every job begins with Lutz meeting the owners and the animals and going over the required tasks.

Generally, Lutz says, she hits it off with the animals.

“I love all these animals,” she says. “I’m like their grandmother, or a second mom. Cats, dogs, they’re unconditionally loving. We really bond.”

Not always, though. She recalls two problem canines.

One was a Chow Chow that had such aggressive tendencies the family couldn’t put it in a kennel, so they called Lutz. That aggression came out with Lutz, too. The dog’s barks, growls and nips kept her at bay.

“By the last day I was scared,” she says. “By the end of their trip, he was the alpha. He was the dominant one in the relationship.”

A French bulldog, meanwhile, charged her at her orientation meeting with the owner, leaped into her lap and grabbed a mouthful of her clothes – and skin. She passed on that job.

Lutz says people choose to use a pet sitter for a number of reasons.

First, the animals get to stay in familiar surroundings. That alleviates stress, especially for cats and older dogs, and those who are losing their sight and hearing.

Also, after the animals get to know her, they view her as a friend, she says, so her visits are treats. And, she can provide personal care that can’t be provided at a kennel. On her own time, she says, she may stay longer, turn on the TV and sit on the couch, cuddling a dog or cat. She says that – and the extra things she might do, such as watering plants and cleaning up after the critters (she hauls around her own power vacuum cleaner) – provides a level of service owners can’t get with a kennel or a neighbor checking in once a day.

For her, the best part of the job is meeting the animals and their humans.

She says she has long cared for a big Doberman named Finnegan “who has the sweetest personality.” She and the couple became so close, she was invited to their wedding announcement party.

“It’s a benefit for me and it’s a benefit for them,” she says of the pets she cares for. “Just to be able to touch each other, it’s a good thing for both of us.”

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